Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Blind arrogance

What's the matter Rummy? Upset that your schemes to buy good news have been exposed? That reporters may finally be developing a backbone after soaking up the blatant lies and distortions that the Bushies have put out for years on subjects ranging from Al Qaeda's connections to Saddam to WMDs to flower petals that were going to greet our troops in Baghdad? Or maybe that your use of the media to get your enemies has led to some indictments?

There's a lot of things wrong with the media -- from the ethically challenged Jayson Blair and Judy Miller to the supine response to the war claims offered by Rummy at all to the chiropractic challenges to indeed report some "good news." The pursuit of the shareholder premium over the truth threatens to destroy the business.

But as Woodstein noted yesterday, there are strong similarities between this administration and the Nixon administration they helped to bring down because of lies. Those similarities really show up strongly when you look at the full-court press to intimidate the media. Sadly, this administration has done a much better job of that -- otherwise George W. would be in the well of the Senate on trial.

Oh I forgot, this Congress is too supine and corrupt to defend the Constitution.